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The Question of Justice to Slipper Thief

Today, the article will not be answering any problem but
asking a question to the readers. The writer of this article went to a mosque,
on entering it he founds that some people have caught a thief who used to steal
slippers there. After the prayers in the mosque, all people gathered around
that thief and started asking him where the slippers that he stole are? But the
thief, who was an aged man of above 50 age, was not answering to their
questions.

After sometime, when the people saw, that he is not
answering to any questions, they started beating him to a point that he fell to
the ground and started making sounds of agony.

At that moment, writer left the premises of the mosque as he
did not know what to do in such condition, whether he should help the thief or
he should not?

According to Islamic point of view, there are two different
explanations to that question that the writer found.

According to this point, Islam does not say to cut whole
hand, but to cut a hand so that it can be recognized by people that its a thief
and they do not trust him. For example, Mark, one gets when he is cutting
vegetables in a kitchen.

2. That thief who cannot pay for the amount he steals, must
work for the person whose amount he stole till the debt is repaid.

According to this point, the person (thief) needs to work
for all those people whose slippers he swept.

But that is a difficult and more of an impossible task. So,
a better option will be to keep that thief as the sweeper of that mosque so
that he can pay for his crimes by rejuvenation of his heart.

As for the writer, he at that time did not do anything
to stop that 'beating'. Hence, he cannot predict what became of that thief.
Though he can inquire from the people at the mosque next time he returns.

May God forbid him...

But to you guys, what should be done in such type of
scenario? And should the thief be saved from beating or is it ethical to beat an old man? If he should be saved, then in what way?